CELEBRITIES IN THE NEWS | January 16, 2013

Published January 16, 2013 - 4:15am Last Updated January 16, 2013 - 8:00am

Tatler’s beloved pooch dies after revolving-door mishap

LONDON (AP) — British high-society magazine Tatler is mourning its beloved office dog, Alan, who died in a revolving-door accident.

Tatler said long-haired miniature dachshund — a well-known industry figure with his own @TatlerAlan Twitter account — passed away in an accident at Vogue House, the London headquarters of magazine publisher Conde Nast.

The London Fire Brigade said firefighters were called Monday to reports of a dog trapped in a door. It said 10 firefighters “worked to rescue Alan but he died at the scene.” A man was treated for shock.

Dozens of people posted condolences on Twitter, where Alan had more than 2,500 followers.

Jennifer George, an assistant to the magazine’s editor and Alan’s owner, thanked the dog’s friends and followers Tuesday. She tweeted: “He was so awesome and so very loved.”

Punk icon Smith to perform at opening of her photographs

TORONTO (CP) — Punk pioneer Patti Smith is going to play a pair of shows at a Toronto art gallery hosting an upcoming exhibition of her photography.

The Art Gallery of Ontario will welcome the rocker, poet and visual artist on March 7, with separate performances at 7:30 p.m. and 9:45 p.m. ET.

Tickets for the standing room-only shows will cost $15 for the public and $13 for gallery members.

Smith will be backed by musicians Jesse Paris Smith (her daughter) and Tony Shanahan for the performances.

The first Canadian exhibition of Smith’s visual art, meanwhile, opens Feb. 9.

It’s set to feature more than 75 works of photography and film and will run until May 19.

“We’re delighted that Patti will be spending some time with our members and visitors,” the gallery’s director and CEO Matthew Teitelbaum said in a statement.

“Camera Solo is a uniquely intimate collection of works, and Patti is a true original. This exhibition exemplifies the AGO’s commitment to bringing Torontonians the very best in contemporary art.”

Brown follows up Da Vinci with novel about Dante

NEW YORK (AP) — A new Dan Brown novel is coming in May, and the subject is Dante.

Doubleday announced Tuesday that Brown’s book is called Inferno, named for Dante’s epic journey in verse. Brown again will feature Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon, the protagonist for his blockbuster The Da Vinci Code and for the million-selling follow-up The Lost Symbol. The book might seem familiar in other ways, as Brown again takes on a masterpiece of Western civilization: The Da Vinci Code centred on an iconic painting, the Mona Lisa.

“Although I studied Dante’s Inferno as a student, it wasn’t until recently, while researching in Florence, that I came to appreciate the enduring influence of Dante’s work on the modern world,” Brown said in a statement. “With this new novel, I am excited to take readers on a journey deep into this mysterious realm.a landscape of codes, symbols, and more than a few secret passageways.”

Brown may also be returning to the religious controversies of The Da Vinci Code, when he infuriated some Catholics by suggesting that Jesus and Mary Magdalene had children. Dante himself was a Catholic who was critical of church leaders.